sci-fi

My post about the Rolling Stone top-20 sci-fi movies of the 21st century—and my version of the top-20 list—inspired some interesting comments from all over, making clear that (ahem) my opinion about what makes the best sci-fi movies is shared by some, but not necessarily all, of the sci-fi lovers out there. Of course, as I pointed out in many places, my opinion is my opinion, your opinion is your opinion, and that’s as far as opinions go, pretty much.

But the discussion was useful in another way: That is, to help define what constitutes sci-fi for the audience of 2015. This is largely an academic exercise, but for those who seek to create sci-fi to be consumed by the populace (and make them a lot of money), if might be worth taking a quick look over these conclusions to make sure you’re doing it right. Continue reading

I recently encountered a Facebook post by an author of a science fiction novel based around the idea of global cooling. He had discovered a website of climate theorists, the Space and Science Research Center, whose opinions roughly matched those of his book, and was proud to point out the connection.

Unfortunately, the SSRC is an avowed anti-warming group, whose theories are not backed by actual scientific data:

“The Space and Science Research Center (SSRC) is (apparently) a for-profit company located in Orlando, FL. They appear to have an anti-global warming agenda, though their arguments have yet to be examined in detail. They present an appearance of scientific grounding, but they do not seem to have any peer-reviewed papers on their theories.” (From Issuepedia)

I politely pointed this out, and added that “although it’s nice to take your SF from the headlines, one should caution whose headlines are being read…”

However, my point was essentially ignored by other posters, including the author, all of whom expressed little or no concern about whether the science in the story was actually correct. One such poster lauded the author, and added:

“I suspect your book will be much better fiction than anything peddled by the SSRC. Science does not have to be believable, as long as your characters are.”

Americans, as a TV culture, have shown ourselves to be truly enamored with two things at the moment: Superheroes; and George R.R. Martin. His Game of Thrones, with its unique characters, conflicts, violence, sex and dragons, is eating up the airwaves… while right beside it, we watch Arrow and Agents of SHIELD, subscribe to Netflix so we can check out new superhero-based programming soon to be shown there, and go out to see The Avengers and Captain America in the movies while we await The Flash and Batman vs. Superman and the Justice League.

Truly there can be no better time to request—no, I say demand—that the Wild Cards series must be adopted for television, right friggin’ now. Continue reading

What… me? Perish the thought. No, I’m trying to make my books sound more exciting. I’ve recently edited the blurbs for two of my novels, Sarcology and My Life, After Berserker, to see if a more exciting description will help sales.

This notion came to me after a Facebook discussion with author James Moclair, who met with two prospective customers for his new book… but apparently, the customers were deterred from buying by the fact that he, in his mid-sixties, seemed to them to be “too old to be a science fiction writer.” Continue reading

Why have I not broached the subject of Orphan Black on this blog before? I honestly don’t know, because it’s just the kind of thing I love, as well as love talking about. Orphan Black is one of my most favorite things in the world, the incredible rare bird.

I was recently told that the TV show premise I’d written was almost picked up by SYFY… except that they had just recently purchased another show very much like mine! (In other words, late to the party…D’OH!)

However, I was also told that another idea by my TV production contact had attracted the attention of a network, and they want to see more. As in, some scripts to kick off the show. And since no one has, as yet, written any… they’ve turned to me to do the honors.

Yes, this is another one of those “I’d tell you the details, but then I’d have to kill you” moments. What I can say is that the original idea is not mine; but I’ve spent enough time talking to the developers on it that I believe I can put together a dynamite set of opening episodes for it.

So, off I go into my creative world, with a new project to sell and someone already showing interest in it… if I don’t screw it up, of course. Fingers crossed!